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1 Chemicals in the Food and Beverage Industry: An Introduction
equilibrium is modified, it causes a dysfunction (toxic effect). There is mobilization
of a part of the organism and sometimes of the entire organism; various reactions
are triggered with the aim of counterbalancing the attack and restoring the broken
balance. From now on, the organism can resist a toxic aggression as long as it is carried out inside the limits of its mechanisms of detoxication, homeostasis, and repair.
Beyond this, compensation mechanisms can be insufficient (Davies 2016; Kotas and
Medzhitov 2015). The defense system cannot then counteract toxic effects.
It should be noted that the toxic substances do not produce effects of the same
intensity on all the organs (e.g., the kidney) or the tissues (e.g., the blood). They
attack organs, in particular selected ‘target’ organs, for reasons that are not always
understood. There can be several reasons, including a greater sensitivity of these
organs, a higher concentration of the toxic compound and/or its metabolites, etc. For
example, the liver is a target organ for vinyl chloride. As a result, for prevention,
the following factors should be studied (Hellman 2003; Silbergeld 1998; Stellman
1998):
(1) The nature and composition of used products
(2) The toxicity of these products and the thresholds for the appearance of this
toxicity
(3) Detection methods in the atmosphere
(4) Screening methods for exposure, both clinically and biologically
(5) Collective and individual means of prevention and their degree of effectiveness
and acceptability.
1.10 Prevention Approaches
Two approaches are possible to prevent health risks from the presence of chemicals
in the workplace, namely (Hellman 2003; Ross and Godin 2016; Silbergeld 1998;
Stellman 1998):
(1) The establishment of limit values for the concentration of substances in the air
of industrial atmospheres (including food and beverage industries), that is to say
a concentration which does not cause any toxic effect in the exposed subjects,
in the case of substances which enter the body by inhalation. Environmental air
analysis will therefore make it possible to control whether working conditions
are permissible, that is to say in fact if the prevention methods are respected. Naturally, the removal of ‘exhausted’ atmosphere from production/storage areas in
food industries and the replacement with ‘fresh’ air are good systems for limiting
exposure, but related effects have to be evaluated after initial measurements
(2) Analysis of one or more biological media (blood, urine, expired air, etc.) of
the exposed subjects, by which we try to estimate either the total exposure
of the individual to a chemical compound (by measurement of concentrations
1 Chemicals in the Food and Beverage Industry: An Introduction
equilibrium is modified, it causes a dysfunction (toxic effect). There is mobilization
of a part of the organism and sometimes of the entire organism; various reactions
are triggered with the aim of counterbalancing the attack and restoring the broken
balance. From now on, the organism can resist a toxic aggression as long as it is carried out inside the limits of its mechanisms of detoxication, homeostasis, and repair.
Beyond this, compensation mechanisms can be insufficient (Davies 2016; Kotas and
Medzhitov 2015). The defense system cannot then counteract toxic effects.
It should be noted that the toxic substances do not produce effects of the same
intensity on all the organs (e.g., the kidney) or the tissues (e.g., the blood). They
attack organs, in particular selected ‘target’ organs, for reasons that are not always
understood. There can be several reasons, including a greater sensitivity of these
organs, a higher concentration of the toxic compound and/or its metabolites, etc. For
example, the liver is a target organ for vinyl chloride. As a result, for prevention,
the following factors should be studied (Hellman 2003; Silbergeld 1998; Stellman
1998):
(1) The nature and composition of used products
(2) The toxicity of these products and the thresholds for the appearance of this
toxicity
(3) Detection methods in the atmosphere
(4) Screening methods for exposure, both clinically and biologically
(5) Collective and individual means of prevention and their degree of effectiveness
and acceptability.
1.10 Prevention Approaches
Two approaches are possible to prevent health risks from the presence of chemicals
in the workplace, namely (Hellman 2003; Ross and Godin 2016; Silbergeld 1998;
Stellman 1998):
(1) The establishment of limit values for the concentration of substances in the air
of industrial atmospheres (including food and beverage industries), that is to say
a concentration which does not cause any toxic effect in the exposed subjects,
in the case of substances which enter the body by inhalation. Environmental air
analysis will therefore make it possible to control whether working conditions
are permissible, that is to say in fact if the prevention methods are respected. Naturally, the removal of ‘exhausted’ atmosphere from production/storage areas in
food industries and the replacement with ‘fresh’ air are good systems for limiting
exposure, but related effects have to be evaluated after initial measurements
(2) Analysis of one or more biological media (blood, urine, expired air, etc.) of
the exposed subjects, by which we try to estimate either the total exposure
of the individual to a chemical compound (by measurement of concentrations